Is the Rebel the right first serious camera for daughter?

[lucyanna girl]

Hi All, I need some input here. My DD will be 17 on her birthday in July. She is The Dark Dancer here on the DIS. She LOVES taking photos.

She is currently using a Canon Power-shot 850SD IS.

DD takes hundreds, sometimes thousands of photos everywhere we go. Even if we don't go anywhere, she is taking pictures.

Now, she wants to move up a level. I am very camera illiterate do forgive me if my terminology is a bit off.

I would like to hold my spending to a thousand dollars maximum. I am considering a Canon Rebel with two lenses, one up to a fifty-five mm, the other two hundred mm.

Also, what is the difference in the Rebel XT, XTi, etc. Which should I get? Should I buy a bundle?

Thanks for your advice.

Penny

 

[Groucho]

DSLR choices can be (and will be) debated until the end of time. None of bad, all are pretty good, each has specific advantages, none is perfect, all are capable of terrific photos especially when paired with a quality lens.

The main contenders, alphabetically, are the Canon XTi, XSi, and the just-announced XS, the Nikon D40/D40x/D60, Olympus E410/E420/E510/E520, Pentax K200D, and Sony A200/A300/A350.

The Nikons will probably do the most "hand holding", with help screens and such. The Sony A300/A350 are the best for live view (but at the expense of a smaller, dimmer viewfinder, plus the A350's image quality isn't as good as the A300's). The Pentax is the only weathersealed one (though you need a weathersealed lens to get the full effect, with that you can shoot in the pouring rain safely), and it and the Olympus clearly have the best kit lenses, not only in optics but with much better build quality than the others. Olympus and Sony OEM lenses tend to be more expensive than the competition. Canons... well, they're Canons so they'd sell well even if they were terrible (which they're not), they generally do well in image quality and not so well in build quality, and the best lenses tend to be very expensive.

With your price range, you should be able to easily pick up a good DSLR with a couple lenses and a couple good-sized memory cards. I'd start with that and put some extra money into a photography class, this will help her learn how to use the camera and also help her decide what kind of photos she likes taking, this will help her decide what would be the best next step for any further lenses or accessories.

One thing - if she's never used a DSLR before, remember that when you change lenses, you should do it as quickly as possible to minimize dust getting inside (dust removal techniques help but don't eliminate dust).

For pricing, check out www.beachcamera.com and look at the prices there. If somewhere is charging more, they had better be giving you a lot more, because Beach is generally about the cheapest quality store out there (free and very quick shipping, very good to deal with.) I'd tend to avoid bundles just because they either give you stuff you don't need, or junky stuff that won't be good quality. (It's unlikely that a cheap tripod that might come in a bundle will be able to hold the camera steady, for example.)

 

[lucyanna girl]

Groucho, Thank you.

I am so lost when it comes to cameras so your help is much appreciated. I took DD yesterday to have her pictures professionally taken and all she was interested in was watching the photographer and studying her methods. I sometimes think her future is in some type of art. She also sketches and paints very well.

Penny

 

[Frantasmic]

You are in luck with Father's Day this weekend. There are some really good deals out there.

The new Rebel XSi generally gets favorable reviews at most of the sites. That would be a good first camera for a serious film buff. I don't know if you could get both lens you want for that for the money you are wanting to spend.

Wolf/Ritz camera has the above with the 18-55mm IS lens for $849 (a $50 break). They also have the D80 with camera, 18-55 lens, and a free 55-200mm Quantaray lens for $899. If you have a store near you, I'd take your daughter and let her try each one out.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

There's a newbie thread here you might find helpful.

Take some time to do your research on what each offers before you buy.

 

[lucyanna girl]

Thanks you. I'll check these out.

Penny

 

[stlkeeler]

Also, one of the best pieces of advice I've found is to go and HOLD them and play around with them. I went into a store for a Canon or a Nikon and came out with a Pentax. One of the reasons was the Canon didn't feel right in my hands. If it's uncomfortable to hold, it might end up sitting on a shelf. You can always buy it online, if they have a better price. But the store I went to has free classes to help you learn how to work your camera, 100 free prints and some other stuff. If you live close to a camera store, it can't hurt to check it out.

Have fun!

 

[Anewman]

As a lifelong Canon shooter, I recommend the Sony A200.

$499 with a 18-70mm lens at Circuit City

 

[Pea-n-Me]

As a lifelong Canon shooter, I recommend the Sony A200.

$499 with a 18-70mm lens at Circuit City

It would be helpful to not only the OP, but others reading this thread, if you could elaborate.

 

[MICKEY88]

I also would recomend the Sony A200,

I personally shoot with 2 Sony A700s, so my opinion is slightly biased,

but the A200 recently received the European award for best camera in it's class..

the Sony DSLRs will also accept MInolta auto focus lenses, so there are a lot of good used lenses available out there


1 place I would have never thought to look for a dslr is Sears, I happened to stop in there last night for somethng else and was surprised to see that they sell them

they also have the Sony A200 for 499

 

[DizzyV6P]

Ignore the free Quantaray lens offer because its only good as a paperweight, so don't even be fooled by that marketing offer.

The Canon 18-55 IS kit lens is a marked improvement in IQ over its precedessor kit lens. The Nikon's 18-55 VR is also a very good lens for the price, so I wouldn't base my decision on what kit lens it comes with at this point.

Canon has finally annouced and soon to be released XS aka D40/D60 killer to compete in the low cost market so you might want to have your daughter check that out.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0806/08061002canon1000d.asp

I also recommend going into a store and holding each camera. That's the best way to see what feels good. If she's really going to be interested in photography, then I'd avoid the D40/D60 series and go straight to either the D80 or even a used D50/D70 simply because you can use all the old lenses and not have to only deal w/ Nikon AF-S lenses. Don't be fooled by Nikon's marketing on the D40/D40x/D60. You can only use autofocus on AF-S lenses. The rest of Nikon's fine line of lenses are stuck with manual focus. This is due to Nikon's decision to leave out the autofocus motor in order to cut costs. Don't get me wrong, the D40 series takes great pictures, but in terms of growth and lense availability, you'll end up getting a D80, D300 or its successor at some point once you hit those limits.

If you really want to spend a lot of money, the Canon 40D or Nikon D300 will last your daughter for a really long time. I've heard many good things about the newer Sonys, but since I haven't played with one yet, I can't vouch for them.

I'll let the Nikon users here talk about the low cost VR lenses. Canon just released their 55-250 IS which is a decent zoom for the price. You can read a review here:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082007canonefs18-55and55-250.asp

I recommend beachcamera, adorama.com and bhphoto.com as the best online places to buy a DSLR.

Good luck with your search!

 

[Anewman]

As a lifelong Canon shooter, I recommend the Sony A200.

$499 with a 18-70mm lens at Circuit City

It would be helpful to not only the OP, but others reading this thread, if you could elaborate.

Well we can elaborate on specs all day.
Megapixels?
Frames per second?
Weight?
batteries?

Or I could just mention its strongest selling points, PRICE and kit lens with a wider than most focal range. IMO any DSLR today will do a great job for the OPs daughter, and all the specs are too close anyways so I just mentioned a factor where there is a clear difference.

 

[Master Mason]

Take your daughter down and have her play with all of the suggested cameras, one of them will just feel better to her, either because of the way it feels in her hand, or the way the controls are laid out etc.

I shoot canons, I think they are great cameras, but the others are all good as well.

 

[MICKEY88]

Ignore the free Quantaray lens offer because its only good as a paperweight, so don't even be fooled by that marketing offer.

!

I'm curious as to why you say that..

I don't know who makes the quantaray lanses these days, but they used to be rebranded sigmas

 

[DizzyV6P]

Quantaray are usually rebranded Sigma's made specifically for Ritz camera. Some folks claim that they were also made using inferior parts from Sigma. I used to own a Quantaray 70-300. I found it soft throughout its range and AF tended to hunt. Upon hearing the rumors about the Sigma rebranding, I tried out the comparable Sigma and found it still soft, but wasn't as bad, AF hunted, but was faster.

I sent it in to have it recalibrated and they said it was within specs. I ended up selling it to a friend who didn't care whether it was soft or not. I bought a used Canon 70-200 F/4 L for about $500 and it was tack sharp. AF was blazing fast. Obviously there's no comparison between the Q and a Canon "L", but its a HUGE jump in IQ.

There are simply much better lenses out there for minimal pricing instead of the "free" Q.

Even the Quantaray 18-200 OS which is supposed to be a rebranded Sigma 18-200 OS has been getting some criticism on the Canon boards. It appears there is a subjectively clear difference in IQ and quality. Why that is, nobody knows.

That's why I've avoided anything Quantaray for the past four years. It's probably safer just to pick up the Sigma version of the 18-200 OS. Since Ritz sells the Quantaray for $530 and Adorama sells the Sigma version for $450 there's really no good reason to get a Quantaray at this point.

As for zoom choices there are lots out there for decent pricing. Depending on what camera you ultimately end up choosing, you should check their respective DSLR forums for opinions on which long zoom would be more suited for your purposes. Although some people hate the guy, I've found Ken Rockwell's opinions on Nikon lenses are pretty spot on according to my Nikon friends. You can find his site at http://www.kenrockwell.com

Another person that has done some good lens comparisons that isn't working for a camera company is Lightrules. It's makes quite reputable reviews and is well respected in most Canon forums. http://www.pbase.com/lightrules/lenstests

 

[Steve's Girl]

As a lifelong Canon shooter, I recommend the Sony A200.

$499 with a 18-70mm lens at Circuit City

I shoot Nikon, and am very happy with Nikon. However, if I were buying today, I would seriously have to look at this Sony. Seems to be a really great value with the in-body IS and an 18-70 lens. I think this would be a nice kit for your daughter to start with. And you save $500 which you will need for her college fund!

 

[greggoda]

I have a new Rebel XSI that replaced my film Rebel 2000 and I love it. Canon is the only thing I've ever shot so I don't have much to compare it to other than what I've read. Sony seems to be trying to buy market share right now with lots of options and very reasonable prices so I would agree that might be a great way to go for the money.

I'd wait on the 2nd lens and see what type of pictures your daughter really wants to shoot. A higher quality fast lens (maybe the Canon 50 1.4) may be a better option over a cheap telephoto.

 

[lucyanna girl]

Wow! A lot to think about here.

I took DD to our local mall today to look but as we live in a small town there wasn't a lot to see. She did see the Canon Rebel 10MP at Sears. She wasn't able to handle it very well on that stick-mount holder they use there.

We will have to make a trip to a larger town for her to see some of the other suggested cameras. She is very excited.

Thanks.

Penny

 

[frugal_mar]

Do any of your friends or extended family members have a DSLR? My friends and I borrow each others equipment, lenses, flashes, camera bodies. We each have some specialty lenses and it is great to share them. In fact my friend just returned my 80-200MM f2.8 lens.

You are buying into a camera system. I believe that for the most part the body doesn't really matter, but the lenses do matter.

For a starter, you should also look at getting an external flash and a 50mm lens. If your daughter is going to get serious about photography, she will need the flash. The 50mm prime lenses for both Nikon and Canon run about $100 and they are well worth the money.

I would also start with the manufacturers kit lenses as opposed to the third party lenses offered by some camera shops.

Don't discount the Nikon D80, there are many rumors about a new model coming out, so there are many deals on a D80. I friend of mine also just got a good a D40. He did a lot of research and this fit his needs the best.

While I am not familiar with Canon's flash system, I know for a fact that Nikon's is just terrific.

I don't know if there are any Costco Warehouses around you, but they are running some great deals on the digital SLRS. Take a look at http://www.costco.com


With Nikon D40's and D60's you can't use some of the older lenses, but Nikon is coming out with some upgrades to those lenses.

I just saw Nikon D60 10.2MP 2.5" with 18-55 VR & 55-200 VR a 1gb SD Card and a Camera bag for $824.99

For $599.99 you could get a Nikon D40 6.1MP 2.5" with 18-55 & 55-200 VR Lens and a Bonus 2G SD Card

If you looked a that package, and added a flash (Nikon Speedlight SB800) for around $350. You would be in your $1000 range and your daughter would have a great camera system.

good luck.

 

[jann1033]

Hi All, I need some input here. My DD will be 17 on her birthday in July. She is The Dark Dancer here on the DIS. She LOVES taking photos.

She is currently using a Canon Power-shot 850SD IS.

DD takes hundreds, sometimes thousands of photos everywhere we go. Even if we don't go anywhere, she is taking pictures.

Now, she wants to move up a level. I am very camera illiterate do forgive me if my terminology is a bit off.

I would like to hold my spending to a thousand dollars maximum. I am considering a Canon Rebel with two lenses, one up to a fifty-five mm, the other two hundred mm.


Also, what is the difference in the Rebel XT, XTi, etc. Which should I get? Should I buy a bundle?

Thanks for your advice.

Penny

the canon xsi has been getting great reviews for image quality.
however till mid july there is a 200 rebate on the canon 40d ( better weather proofing and right now can't think what else might be faster frames per second, )making it basically the same price( around $800) so imo, i'd get the 40d which might take you a little over the 1000 if you get the kit lens with it...i have the 28-135 is and if you get a good copy it's a fine lens but make sure you get a good copy. you can check out canon's website and see what lenses are offered with a rebate as well.
'